Writing a marketing strategy and plan
Marketing strategy and planning set the foundation for everything you do. Doing it right enables you to focus your time and budget on the right marketing programs to reach your goals.
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Video: Writing a marketing strategy and plan
Watch our video to help you understand why a marketing strategy is the key to what your business stands for.
Topics include:
- why it’s important to write or update your marketing strategy
- why strategy must come before tactics
- the 7Ps of marketing and the marketing mix
- a step-by-step model to create a marketing strategy.
Effective marketing should be:
- based on your business plan and goals and shaped by your business strategy
- guided by a clear process and practical know-how.
Marketing strategy and planning set the foundation for everything you do. Start with your marketing strategy, then develop a marketing plan to make it real.
Your marketing strategy outlines the why and the what:
- why you’re in business
- what you want to achieve.
It sets out your long-term marketing approach.
Your marketing plan describes the how and the when. It:
- is the tactical roadmap to make your strategy happen
- describes your short-term initiatives in the current year.
Having a clear marketing strategy and plan delivers significant benefits for your business. It will help to:
- keep your marketing efforts focused
- connect with the right customers
- make the most of your investment
- measure and improve your results.
Templates for developing your marketing strategy and plan
Choose one of these downloadable templates to customise and complete:
- a one-page marketing strategy template (a concise option, pictured)
or
- the Marketing Strategy and Plan section in the business plan template (a more comprehensive option).
Develop your marketing strategy in 6 steps
Your marketing approach influences the way you run your business, so it’s important to consult your internal team and external partners.
As you work your way through the steps, capture your insights and findings in the relevant templates.
Checklist: from strategy to planning
Make sure you’ve completed the 6 steps discussed above before moving onto your marketing plan:
- I know my business and the current market.
- I’ve set clear, realistic, and measurable marketing objectives.
- I’ve defined meaningful target segments.
- I’ve defined my business’s distinctive brand.
- I’ve completed an analysis of my competitors.
- I’ve identified the marketing programs I need to focus on.
Translate your strategy into your marketing plan
Once you have a marketing strategy, you can extend it into a marketing plan. The marketing plan reflects and builds on your thinking. It’s your roadmap to get where you want to be.
A marketing plan:
- is a practical and detailed document
- sets realistic and measurable activities.
It’s about the execution of:
- tactics (methods)
- actions
- controls.
A structured and documented marketing plan has many benefits. It:
- takes the guesswork out of your marketing
- keeps your marketing activities targeted
- ensures that you can monitor your success.
Don’t try to do everything at once. Adopt a phased approach based on the skills, time and staff you have available.
Your marketing plan will be implemented repeatedly and change over time. There are different stages to this process:
- Write your marketing plan.
- Implement marketing tactics.
- Measure against key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Refine your marketing plan.
Marketing action plan template
Download and complete the marketing action plan template.
This plan also forms part of your larger marketing strategy and plan.
Implement the marketing plan
To implement your marketing plan successfully, you need to confirm you have everything you need to implement it.
Resources and expertise
Ask yourself these questions about your skills and capacity:
- Have you allocated the right budget?
- Do you have the right knowledge and skills in-house?
- Will you need to upskill your current staff or employ new staff?
- Should you consider engaging an external marketing partner based on your internal gaps?
Depending on the type of business and your marketing strategy, you may need to prioritise training and development. For example, with an online business, this could include website and social media management.
Communication and collaboration
Your staff need to be engaged and committed to make your marketing efforts to work.
- Make sure your staff understand how marketing fits in with your business plan and goals.
- Involve your staff throughout the marketing strategy and planning process.
- Mentor employees who are enthusiastic about marketing and provide opportunities to increase their skills.
- Keep communicating—your business marketing will always be changing and growing.
Also consider…
- Read about how you can expand and retain your customer base by becoming a customer-focused business.
- Find advice on advertising your business.
- Learn more about branding your business.
- Read more about managing public relations and the media.
- Find tips and advice on using direct marketing.
